Brewers President of Business Operations Rick Schlesinger said that business is "surprisingly good" amid the pandemic, and "without any certainty they will be allowed to go to games at what will be known Jan. 1 as American Family Field," as fans are buying tickets for the '21 season, according to Tom Haudricourt of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Schlesinger said, "We're close to a 90% renewal rate on our season seat holders, which is right where we were a year ago." He added, "Our message is we don't know what's going to happen to 2021 but let's try to be as optimistic as possible." Haudricourt noted ticket sales are "paramount in keeping the Brewers in good shape financially." Game revenue "usually accounts for 30-40% of a team's yearly budget, but filling the stands is particularly important in Milwaukee, the smallest major-league market in terms of all-important radio/television money." Schlesinger declined to say if $100M was an "appropriate figure for the Brewers' losses this year, but it's reasonable to assume that was the general neighborhood." Expense management meant "furloughing employees for a period, then putting layoffs into effect, including some on the business side in recent weeks." Schlesinger said that the club is "not teetering financially." He said, "I have no concerns about our financial viability, both as a team and industry. We are modeling a lot of assumptions for 2021 knowing we don't actually know that much" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 11/14).
